Skirt-hook attachment for corsets.



No. 742,188. PATENTED OCT. 27, 1903.

v M. B. HAMMOND.

SKIRT HOOK ATTAGHMENT FOR CORSETS;

APPLICATION FILED NOV; 20; 1902.,

no MODEL.

INVENTOR UNITED STATES Patented October 27, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

MYRONB. HAMMOND, or BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

SKIRT-HOOK ATTACHMENT FOR CORSETS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 742,188, dated October27, 1903.

Application filed November 20, 1902- $eria1 No. 132,146. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

'Be it known that I, MYRON B. HAMMOND, a

' citizen of the United States,residing at Bridgeport, in the county ofFairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Skirt-Hook Attachments for Corsets;'and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled inthe art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to skirt-hook attachments for corsets, and has forits object to provide a device of this description which may readily beattached to a corset-busk and removed therefrom without the employmentof any clamps or special fastening devices;

and with these ends in View my invention consists in certain details ofconstruction-and arrangementof parts, such as will be herein after fullyset forth and then specifically be designated by the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this application,Figure 1 is a front elevation illustrating my improvement as applied toa corset-busk; Fig. 2, a rear elevationiof the same. Figs. 3 and 4 arerespectively front and rear perspectives of my improved device. Fig. 5is a perspective illustrating a modified form of my improvement;

and Figs. 6 and 7 are sections at the lines as a; and y y of Fig. 1,respectively, the corset being omitted from these views.

Similar numbers of reference denote like parts in the several figures ofthe drawings.

Heretoforelarge hooks have been sewed or otherwise secured directly tothe front of a corset, which hooks open downwardly, so that the front ofa skirt-band may be passed beneath said hook and the skirt afterwardsecured around thewaist of the wearer, the object of this being to lowerthe waist-line in front so as to obtain the pointed effect so popularand fashionable at the present time. Also devices have been contrivedquite similar to my present improvement; but the tongue, which preventsany upward slipping of the device,has been formed within the back plate,which is designed to embrace the rear of the corset-busk, and also thefree edge of the back plate has been made perfectly straight, so that itwas well nigh impossible to force the contrivance upon a corset-buskwithout straining the back plate to such a degree that it would nolonger be parallel with the front plate, thus preventing the back platefrom hearing firmlyagainst the rear of the corsetbusk. In devicesconstructed like that to which I have last referred the pull or strainat the front of the skirt-band will cause the back plate to be forcedaway from the corsetbusk, slightly, to be sure, but sufficient toprevent the tongue from performing its functions, so that the devicewill readily slip up ward and its utility thereby be destroyed. Myimprovement obviates all these disadvantages and will be readilyunderstood from the following description.

1 represents the busk of a corset.

My improvementproper comprises a front plate 2 and a back plate 3, whichare substantially parallel with each other and' are connected at oneside by a roll-flange 4,

the front plate being slightly longer than the terminate inrearwardly-extending lips 5 6, respectively. The front plate hasdepending therefrom and integral therewith a downwardly-opening hook 7,this hook being in Fig. 3 shown as depending from the lower edge of saidfront plate, while in the modified form (shown at Fig. 5) it is shown asdepending from the upper edge of said plate.

8 is a tongue which is cut out of the front plate, but not whollysevered therefrom, and which is forced inwardly, so as to inclineupwardly and assume a normal position between the two plates.

In "applying my improvement for use it is forced upon a corset-busk, thelips 5 6 being, 0 respectively, in the front and rear of said busk. Thelip 6 serves to guide the device so that the busk may readily beembraced thereby, while the lip 5 causes the front plate to be forcedaway from the busk as the device is forced thereon, thereby preventingthe tongue 8 from dragging against'the busk so as to retard or preventthe proper application of my improvement to a corset; but

when the device has been forced upon the mo busk to the proper extentthe lip 5 will then have passed beyond the inner edge 9 of the busk andwill, owing to its resilient action, spring rearwardly, so as to liesnugly behind said edge, thereby bringing the front plate, andconsequently the tongue, flat against the front of the busk.

The free edge of the tongue may of course be serrated or roughened, ifdesired, although this is not necessary, since I have ascertained thatthe front plate will lie so uniformly and close to thebusk that thetonguewill press with considerable force against said husk, so that itis impossible to accidentally shift the device upwardly when in positionfor use.

The roll-flange 4 not only greatly strengthens myimprovement at thepoint where the bending is effected to bring the front and back platesinto parallelism, but it also insures a strong spring action to theseplates, so that the parallelism which the latter normally assume willnot be disturbed by the constant application of my improvement to acorset.

In utilizing my improvement in connection with a skirt the band of thelatter is passed beneath the hook and then drawn upwardly around thewaist and secured, and it .will thus be readily understood that there isa constant upward strain upon said hook,whieh strain tends to throw thehook away from the husk. This strain upon the hook causes the frontplate to press more firmly against the busk, and therefore the tonguewill thereby bite with greater force against said busk; but were thetongue located within the back plate this strain upon the hook wouldtend to release the pressure of the tongue against the busk, and thedevice would readily slip upwardly along the busk. I have ascertainedthat this strain upon the hook renders it absolutely necessary that thetongue should be placed in the front plate, and I therefore do not wishto be understood as claiming any construction wherein said tongue or itsequivalent is located in the back plate; but

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A skirt-hook attachment for corsets, comprising metal front and backplates substantially parallel and connected at one end, the free ends ofsaid plates terminating in rearwardly-extending lips, the front platehaving depending therefrom a downwardly-opening hook and also having atongue which extends inwardly between said plates and has an upwardinclination, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MYRON B. HAMMOND.

Witnesses:

F. W. SMITH, J12, M. T. LONGDEN.

